TV Channel

Good morning to everyone, and good morning or good evening to all our dear devotees, friends, practitioners, spiritual seekers, and those joining us via webcast. This blessing comes to you from Śrī Mahāprabhujī, Bhagavān Dīp Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī’s āśram in Strelky, Czech Republic, during a three-week retreat. We have just returned from a beautiful one-and-a-half-hour walk through the Strelky forest, a place of untouched nature. During the walk, inspiration came for today's message. This retreat is for self-development, self-mastery, achievement, and God-realization, or Ātmā-jñāna. We all possess knowledge; we are not ignorant. Modern humanity has vast knowledge about material life, which is important. Without it, our existence would be challenging. We should not deny or negate modern technology. Whether one is poor or rich, developments like television, the internet, telephones, and electricity are great. A normal person's life today is more comfortable and technologically equipped than a king's life a century ago. We should be thankful to those who work to develop new technologies. You are not forced to have these things. There is no law requiring a cell phone, computer, or television. This equipment is for your comfort and use, not for abuse. As yogīs, especially as Yoga in Daily Life practitioners, we do not neglect or oppose technology; we know how to use it wisely. If we were against it, why would we use webcasting cameras, microphones, loudspeakers, videos, or photos? Use it, but do not abuse it. With this understanding, you will be happy and live as a yogī. If you do not have a mobile phone, you lose nothing. In a serious emergency, phones are available everywhere. Consider the cost and necessity. Make a list: are you using or abusing? Mark what you need and what is unnecessary. You might find 60% is dispensable. For instance, to inform a friend of your train arrival, you need 18 seconds, yet conversations often stretch to fourteen minutes with unnecessary talk. I know many yoga disciples who choose not to have a mobile phone. They say, "If it's urgent, come to my home." Technology is there for your use; you are free. It requires inner strength to manage your ego. A simple phone costs little, but people chase expensive models due to ego. Similarly, there are inner feelings. To think you will fulfill all desires in this life is foolish. A girl wrote to me today seeking "real love" with someone. I must ask her: How many relationships have you had? Were those men not real? Love was real, but you did not recognize it. There is only one real love that never disappoints: God's love. But you must know how to fall in love with God; that is an art. Everything else can destroy you. While walking, a beautiful thought arose: how a small thing can destroy us. A little desire can lead to destruction. I recalled a story. There was a beautiful forest with ancient trees, some 300 years old—great survivors of wars and storms. A sādhu, a yogī about 250 years old, walked through the forest. He stopped among the great trees, looked around, held his hands, and expressed sadness. The oldest oak tree asked, "Swāmījī, you are so wise, a great yogī who teaches people not to be sad. What saddens you today?" Swāmījī replied, "I am sorry for you. Your destruction has come." The tree asked, "What do you mean? Who is our enemy?" Swāmījī said, "Your enemy is not yet born but is in the hands of the Creator—a blacksmith. He is creating an axe." The 800-year-old oak, whose trunk required twenty people to encircle, laughed. "Swāmījī, please go and meditate. How can something so small destroy us?" Swāmījī placed his hand on the tree and said, "As destiny wills," and left. Two years later, Swāmījī returned to find all the great trees felled, including the ancient oak. The oak spoke: "Master, you were right." Swāmījī asked, "Old friend, how did such a small enemy manage this?" The wise oak explained: "The iron axe blade alone did not have the strength. But when our own relative—wood—was added as a handle, it gave the axe the power to destroy us." Swāmījī said, "A good lesson," and departed. This story means that from birth, we are in the jungle of life with strong senses, muscles, bones, and intellect. When advised, "Don't do this, go meditate," we may not listen. Distraction occurs through a small axe forged by our ambition—the blacksmith. The desire, like seeking "real love," is the axe. Our own senses and desires are the wooden handle. Sooner or later, this combination destroys us. At 40, if a man says, "I want to experience real love," you might call him crazy. But later, it may be too late. Our enemies are within: kāma, krodha, mada, lobha, moha, ahaṅkāra, ajñāna (lust, anger, pride, greed, delusion, ego, ignorance). We are caught and surrounded by them. Like the tree, we cannot run away. You can fly on planes or rockets, but you cannot escape your desires. They are small but strong. A great cobra can be killed by ants entering a wound. Similarly, the ants of our negative energy, thinking, and desires can finish us. There is only one remedy: renounce and enjoy. Give up attachment. Another example from Vedānta: a hawk caught a rabbit and was pursued by other hawks. Exhausted, he prayed to God for protection. God said, "Drop it. They are not interested in you, but in what you have." The hawk dropped the meat, and the others chased it, leaving him to rest peacefully on a tree branch. Moha (attachment) is what we cling to. People are after what you have—your money, not you. That is why the wealthy often stay away. Renounce and enjoy. Do not give chances to trouble. Do not project yourself unnecessarily. Stay home with your family. Be happy with your spouse and children. In the evening, be together, eat, work, have satsaṅg, and sleep. In the morning, have breakfast together, go to work, and return. If you are on a dark street at 3 a.m., you invite trouble. Do not blame others. Stay with your private family or guru brothers and sisters. Enjoy life through āsana, meditation, mantras, reading, and helping family members. What a beautiful life when humans understand it. Therefore, be careful of your inner enemy. Do not give it a chance to create a tool joined by your desire. This was the inspiration from today's walk. Walking is beautiful. When you need an answer, go into the forest, a park, your garden, or sit near flowers or a candle. Or sit calmly with your spouse; they will be happy, perhaps saying, "After 45 years, I was missing this." That is family. With guru brothers, satsaṅg, and family, good thoughts and inspiration come. For today, that is all. This afternoon will feature a special self-healing therapy exercise. We should never deny medicine either; it is for good health. You are not forced to take it if you are healthy, but if unwell, taking medicine is not a sin. Thanks to God, modern science and technology offer many paths to health—Āyurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, yoga, allopathy. Use it or lose it. A 104-year-old lady in a New York home told me proudly, "My master from India said, 'You have yoga, use it or lose it.'" The next webcast will be at 5:30 p.m.